Holiday Bookstore Browsing

I just returned from an afternoon of bookstore browsing. My Bookman has to work today so I went and visited and he was kind enough to buy me a yummy mocha. I did not go in search of but wandered instead, something I don't do all that often. But it paid off. I found a book I'd been hoping to get sometime as a gift for my husband and since his birthday is at the end of the month, well, it had to come home with me. I also got a copy of Rita Dove's latest, American Smooth to add to the poetry shelf. She's been taking ballroom dance lessons and several of the poems are about dancing and from the poem I read, "Rumba" and the few other snippets I eyed, it will be a treat. The cover, however is a little creepy, a bit Angel of Death-like. I might have to take the jacket off while I read it so I don't end up having bad dreams about it. I also sat and drooled over a book called The Most Beautiful Libraries of the World. The book group them together by country so all the British ones were together, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, American, etc. Surprisingly the German libraries were the most ornate. Others, like the Vatican library, are clearly meant for looking and not for reading. The British and American libraries were quite a contrast to all the others. They were clearly meant to be used as is evidenced by the sea of reading tables at the New York Public and the Library of Congress and the reading nooks and worn wood floors in the Trinity library. Some of the libraries made me want to get lost in them, others I could only picture myself standing in the middle with my mouth hanging open in wonder. I had to leave the book behind though. I couldn't justify the $50 price tag. Though I see it can be had online for less. If you see it at your local bookstore or library be sure to spend some time looking through it and imagining walking through the stacks. I hope everyone who gets a holiday today is enjoying it. I'm enjoying the day away from work. There will be no fireworks for me tonight though. I'll be staying in with the windows shut and the air conditioner on in an attempt to keep the noise from upsetting the dog. It wouldn't be so bad if ex-governor Ventura didn't have to go and make them legal. Now all the kids in the neighborhood have them. The cat doesn't seem to care. He is more bothered by the frantically barking dog. He'll puff up in a corner somewhere and glare daggers at the oblivious dog, or hide himself under a chair and not come out until it's all over. The joys of the Fourth of July.